Legal Services & Administration

Asavela Mdemka
Secretary

Provision of pro-active legal and administrative solution-driven services to both the Council and the Administrative arm of the municipality.

Major goals:

• To bring about a holistic approach to municipal administration where each and every member of the team knows how their area of responsibility relates to that of the other member;
• To promote the understanding that for each action there are legal consequences that can lead to fruitless and wasteful expenditure by the Municipality.
• To entrench a culture of accountability, ethics and transparency.

Core Municipal KPA: Municipal Transformation and Organisational Development

Though the Legal Services & Administration Unit is administratively locate at Directorate: Corporate Services, its Legal Services component forms part of Good Governance, and hence is also functionally reporting to the Office of the Municipal Manager. The Administration component comprises Council Support Records Management Services and Assets Maintenance, and is geared towards ensuring that an enabling environment for the delivery of services to the Community of Chris Hani District Municipality is created. 

Main Tasks:
Litigation Management
The Legal Services is responsible for the implementation of the Municipality’s Litigation Management Strategy. This strategy recognizes the fact that the role of an in-house municipal Legal Services Unit has evolved. It has changed from being passive into being a proactive and innovative partner to leadership. It achieves this by having professionals with broad skills to accomplish the municipality’s broad objective of service delivery through high performance, integrity and sound risk management. Municipal’s in-house legal services team have a duty to be involved in major discussions and decisions regarding planning, executing strategic objectives, as well as in assessing and mitigating legal risks. Furthermore, they help shape major transactions, while providing support to the executive management in making major decisions.

The Litigation Management Strategy has 5 (five) pillars that seek to ensure that all the above is achieved, which are as follows:

• Proactive Legal Support Services
• Stakeholder Consultation
• Litigation Risk Mitigation
• Capacity Building
• Co-operative Governance

Council Support
This sub-unit is a vital cog in the chain of events leading to the sitting of the meetings of the Municipality’s highest decision making body, the Council. The Council Support sub-unit, in assistance to both the Office of the Speaker, Municipal Manager and, to a certain extent, the Office of the Executive Mayor, is responsible for the following:

• Co-ordinate effective functioning of Council and its committees;
• Organize the sitting of the Mayoral Committee and standing committees;
• Assist the Office of the Municipal Manager in tracking the implementation of Council resolutions
• Support all the Council structures with secretariat services.
• Generate Council agendas and ensure maintenance of the Council resolution register
• Maintain the audit file in all Council related matters

Records Management Services
This sub-unit is responsible for the safeguarding of the Municipality’s information. It is guided by both the National Archives and Records of South Africa Act (NARSA) and the Provincial Archives and Records of South Africa Act (PARSA), the implementation of which is the responsibility of the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC). DSRAC and the Office of the Auditor General continue to be important stakeholders to the Municipality’s Records Management Unit. This unit is responsible for the following:

• The development and the implementation of the Records Management Policy, Procedure Manual and the File Plan;
• Facilitation of the old records disposal in line with legislation;
• Capacity building to the institution insofar as document archiving and tracking is concerned
• Ensure transition from manual records management system into electronic document management system

Municipal Assets Maintenance
The Assets Maintenance sub-unit is charged with the creation of an enabling environment by ensuring that there is adequate and secure office space. This sub-unit aims to ensure that there is:

• Identification of municipal’s immovable assets for maintenance and safeguarding
• Development and the Implementation of the Maintenance and Security Management plans
• Development of the Security Management Policy and Standard Operating Procedures
• Adherence to good customer care practices by the auxiliary services staff